Re: Trump's new opinion of US military
Yeah I've worked with them. Almost every "cell" from my old division had a civilian "mission manager" which granted, they truly were experts, better than those in uniform, but paid 5x as much for being 2x better, and were ultimately unnecessary. During government shutdowns all work got done exactly the same as before. You hit the nail on the head. The DoD needs a good axing.
I am more concerned with more of the "general labor" kinds of contractors than I am the real specialists.
Like the civilian mechanics that do oil changes and routine maintenance on the vehicles. Or the civilian gate guards. Or the ones issuing supplies at CIF or cleaning dishes at the chow halls.
30 years ago, each Battalion sized unit had to send 2 or 3 privates to the chow hall for a month for "KP". They are the ones that washed the dishes, unloaded the trucks, and did most of the work not involved with actually cooking and serving the food. Today, that is more than likely done by a civilian. Mowing lawns, civilian contractors. Changing light bulbs, civilian contractors, running the theatre, gym, and other MWR functions, civilians once again.
When I first joined, a chow hall might have 1 civilian for each 3-4 military members who worked there. Generally they were facility managers, to give a continuity as the military came and went. Now it is generally reversed, with 3-4 civilians for each military member that works there.
The same with MWR, generally a civilian manager with a bunch of enlisted sent over to do most of the actual work for 3-12 months. Now the only military that work in them are generally the "walking wounded" who are assigned that as a "light duty" chore" as they are healing from a major injury or waiting for their discharges. 25 years ago I worked at Range Control at a West Coast base. There were 8 of us, 1 CWO4 and 7 NCOs-Enlisted. Now whenever I need to go to Range Control, is generally almost all civilian and a couple of senior enlisted.
25 years ago when I was going to the Naval Hospital on a regular basis for physical therapy, there might be 2 or 3 civilians working in the PT section, and 5 or 6 military. The last times I went to such, it was all civilian. Other than seeing my Battalion level medical personnel, it is always a civilian I see now when I am referred to a specialist. Unlike in the early 90s, when my Orthopedic Doctor was a Commander.
Things have changed in this way in a disturbing manner in the past 35 years. And it has got to be a major reason why the budget has gotten so big.
Lay off the personal comments now.